Liverpool v Sevilla preview

Liverpool take on Sevilla in the Europa League final in Basel on Wednesday night with a place in the group stage of next season’s Champions League up for grabs for the winners.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have endured an indifferent campaign in the Premier League, finishing eighth in the table, their lowest position since 2012.

As a result, the Reds will miss out on European football altogether next season if they fail to beat a Sevilla team that has won the competition in each of the past two years.

Klopp insists, however, that Sevilla’s 2014 and 2015 triumphs mean nothing ahead of this year’s final at St Jakob Park.

The German also believes Sevilla’s Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on Sunday could “make a big difference” to the outcome of the game.

Sevilla, who are at least assured of a Europa League place next season courtesy of their seventh-place finish in La Liga, travel to Switzerland looking to make history by becoming the first club to win Europe’s second-tier competition three times in a row.

Meanwhile, a fifth triumph overall for Sevilla – all within just 10 years – would also extend the record it holds over the likes of Liverpool, Juventus and Inter Milan, who have all won the competition on three occasions.

At the same time, victory for the Merseysiders at St Jakob Park would see them draw level with the Spaniards as the joint-most successful team in the UEFA Cup/Europa League’s 45-year history.

But one perfect record has to end on Wednesday: Sevilla and Liverpool have won all seven UEFA Cup and Europa League finals they have played in.

Unai Emery’s holders, though, have not won outside Spain all season long, a run that started back in August in Tbilisi when Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup 5-4 after extra time.

Emery is banking on his player’s mental resilience to become the first coach to win three consecutive Europa League trophies.

“The fact that this is our third consecutive final demonstrates …

continue reading in source www.skysports.com